Katzner column: Fresh paint is likely a low home priority

When I hear the term “problem properties,” I think about places that frequently have issues with crime.

When St. Cloud’s City Council members talk about problem properties, they apparently think about places that are in desperate need of a thorough spring cleaning.

In a June 9 meeting, St. Cloud City Council members said more needs to be done to deal with the biggest problem properties in St. Cloud’s core neighborhoods. The Times reported that council member George Hontos started the meeting by showing photos of a number of homes that had “issues” ranging from chipped paint to sagging fences to garbage in the alley.

“We’re not going to tolerate this crap anymore,” he told the people in attendance.

Clearly the issue lit a fire under Hontos, and he’s not alone. I believe that fire could instead be shining a light on more important issues.

I might be more sensitive to the idea of troubled properties because I’ve gone through it myself. I grew up in a lake home that my parents bought for about $60,000 and probably doubled in value through upgrades. Then money got tight, and because of a story that’s too long to tell here, the house was eventually foreclosed. Members of my family had to couch surf. I slept on a floor until I was able to rent an apartment.

Eventually, the place that was once a source of pride for me became a place I was embarrassed to bring my friends to because of how bad it began to look. But it looked that way because my parents were scraping together money to pay the gas bill rather than spending it on hydrangeas or a fresh coat of paint.

There are times when how a home looks is the least important part of having a home. For a city that urges people to be part of something greater, the approach to this issue is less than impressive.

Frankly, there are bigger problems that we should be paying attention to.

There is merit to taking care of dilapidated properties, some of which are rentals with negligent owners, not tenants. If they are unsafe, they need to be upgraded or need to go. I also know an unkempt property can lessen the property values of the buildings around it, and that’s not fair to neighbors.

But one of the properties used as an example in the June 9 meeting was a home that was struck by a car three years ago and still doesn’t have new siding.

Yes, three years is a long time. But let’s not forget that when a four-wheeled wrecking ball starts an unsolicited remodeling of your home, siding is probably the last thing you’re worried about.

I don’t believe all the places on the city’s list are on there because of a deep-seated urge to ruin their neighborhood one chipping paint job at a time. I think some homes are on that list simply because their money is better spent on other problems.

With that in mind, I don’t mind if there’s some paint chipping or fence sagging. Are people good neighbors? If the answer is yes, then in my opinion there really is no problem at all.